Articles » Biodynamics

Tree Painting as an Esoteric Deed

This article addresses the gardeners out there who have a little time to engage in a practice that might seem like at total waste of time to a busy agriculturalist. Ever since I read an article in an old Bio-Dynamic magazine on the blood and milk method I have been trying to work out a superior tree paste for fruit trees. The blood and milk method was, I think, a Swedish method where blood from slaughter livestock was mixed with water and clay and painted on the trees in the early spring before the buds were stirring. Then as the flowers were falling and the little fruits were being set skim milk was sprayed onto the little fruits to form a skin on them to protect them from the ovipositors of insect seeking to plant larvae in the fruits. In my mind this linked to the tree paste procedures being advocated at that time in Bio-Dynamic circles.

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Posted:
July 01, 2010
Themes:
Alchemy, Biodynamics

Silica - Substance and Process

This article was presented as a lecture at the annual Biodynamic Conference at Sacramento in 1989.

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Posted:
July 16, 2010
Themes:
Biodynamics

Experimental Process for Enhancing Drought Tolerance and Fungus Resistance in Plants

In the life of a plant alcohols play an important role in the maturation and fruiting process. They also form the basis for the protective wax cuticle that keeps the plant free from insect and fungus attack. Plant wax in the form of the cuticle surrounding the surfaces of leaves and stems of plants also allows the plant to retain moisture in times of drought. The wax in the cuticle is the end product of alcohol metabolism as sugar is metabolized in the plant. Roughly, the sequence is sugar, alcohol as ethanol, alcohol as oil or fat, and alcohol as wax.

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Posted:
August 01, 2010
Themes:
Alchemy, Biodynamics, Drought, Grapes, Plants

Amethyst Spray

In the summer of 1993 an experiment was undertaken to see if the potentization of the gem amethyst would have an effect upon plant growth in the climatic niche of the central valley of California.

The goal was to see if a variation of the 501 spray could be made which would provide a more moist light under the arid intense light conditions of a central California summer.

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Posted:
August 05, 2010
Themes:
Biodynamics, Garden

Silica and Clay Polarity

Silica is the light pole in the minerals. It is a kind of flowering process in the mineral realm since silica in plant growth enhances the refined properties that light brings to plants. Photosynthesis requires light for its action. The light interacts with the flavonoids (phenols and tannins) and anthocyanins (blue and red pigments that protect tissues from too much light) as plant pigments on the periphery of the growing plant. The pigments in the skins and leaves absorb and transform the light into energies that create growth.

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Posted:
August 08, 2010
Themes:
Biodynamics

Stone Antennae: Analogs of electrostatic capacitance antennae

The use of stone towers in the ancient world went beyond the militaristic function of turrets on castles. In many cultures the stone tower was a kind of induction antenna for cosmic forces. Cosmic forces from the stars were generally held to be the source of fertility in the land. Towers or even upright stones were placed so as to direct cosmic forces into the ground. These induction towers have an analog today in technical devices known as electrostatic capcitance antennas. These antennas allow weak signals to be induced into devices like car radios.

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Posted:
August 09, 2010
Themes:
Alchemy, Biodynamics

The Heart of Clay

It has been said that by working the soil it is possible to do in a few years what would take nature thousands of years to accomplish.

Intensive soil cultivation and the addition of proper soil amendments can aggregate sandy soil to give it more crumb or open heavy lime marls to give them more porosity.  In both instances, when the proper soil consistency is maintained, the soil is said to have ‘heart’.

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Posted:
August 16, 2010
Themes:
Biodynamics, Garden, Soil